Together at Last

Is Cashew in awe? Is she in shock? Does she merely have to poop? Who knows for sure. One thing that is for sure is that Curlicue is done! Off the needles! No longer in a pile by the knitting chair! Grab that flask and take a celebratory swig!


There it is in all it's glory. It's a bit rumpled in the photo, but it did block very nicely. A tad tricky to photograph, so it may not be as creative as yesterday's salad but at least it's a full view.

So the technical knitter stuff: The pattern is Curlicue Coverlet by Oat Couture. I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Dusty Sage. I started this blanket mid-winter with hopes of finishing in early March before Cashew was born. Swollen fingers kept that from happening, and any remaining knitting was done during naps, bedtime and walks to the park. It was finally completed in late June. My modification was to do a provisional cast on. Instead of seaming the blanket, I kept the stitches live on the last section, picked up the stitches from the cast on, picked up stitches past the cast on (makes sense when you are working on this blanket), picked up a couple stitches in the center to close the hole and did a 3 needle bind off. Over all it is a fairly easy blanket to knit. The sections go by fast because they are all short rows. The pattern is easy to memorize. I was able to do it with Placenta Brain AND New Mommy Brain. That, in my opinion, is quite something.

So now I can finally move on to something else. I have so many beautiful yarns in my stash, I have decided to have fun with stash busting. Must make room for Rhinebeck!

The Menu

I really loved my June Plan. Yes, I was tired from trying to fit so much in, but the upside is all the options I now have. It's like going to your favorite cafe and picking something from the menu. Shall I blog about my Babette short stack?

Or perhaps my fiber rich dish towels...

Or shall I go straight for a Curlicue salad? Decisions, decisions!

Checking In

The June Plan has been implemented. I have learned that maintenance is key, along with automatic litter boxes. My warp has been sleyed through the reed, now I just need to tie it to the front beam and start weaving! Could there be a dishtowel or two before the end of June?


Babette is coming along. I'm still loving this project. It's nice to work on something that is so entertaining. Each square is fairly quick to make and each one is different. Love that. I am thinking about adding two more colors. Perhaps an earthy pink and a dirty teal. Hmmm.


Curlicue. It's almost done! Can you believe it? Two more sections to go. The only way it will get finished is if I get knitting.

So I guess I should go knit.

The Turtle

Apparently I am the slowest knitter ever. Le sigh. As much fun as I have reading Penelope's and Tina's blogs, I'm starting to get depressed from them. I thought I had good finger dexterity, but I guess I am lacking in caffeine. Seriously, what are you gals taking? Maybe I need to practice Continental. Throwing the yarn is taking up too many precious milliseconds.

Curlicue, officially starting section 11. There are 15 sections total. I want to finish this project by May 31 so I can start fresh with new projects for my June Plan.


I'm up to the sleeve shaping for the baby shrug. This also must be finished by May 31. Allena gave me the cute project bag for my birthday! She sews them herself and rumor has it she will be selling them soon.


My plan was to try and have these done for the Sock Exchange so that Cashew could wear them. Clearly that didn't happen. If it takes me until May 31 to finish these I will be very embarrassed.

(BTW - Cashew is modeling her Lacy Bonnet here. )

Return of the Curlicue

I am back to working on the Curlicue Coverlet! My fingers are still a bit numb/tingly at the tips, but it is so much better. I hardly notice it anymore. So here I am half way through section 9. These sections go fast, but my knitting time is quite sporadic. I finally figured out how to knit and nurse (ala knittypants), but that's only good for a small project like socks, and really only for a couple of rows. At least until I build up power forearms that can hold a growing baby. Now if I could pump and knit, that would be awesome. Pumping has got to be the most boring thing EVER. Sit, hold nozzle, wait. Shoot me, I'm a knitter! I can't just sit there and be milked like a cow!

But I digress. So here's a blob of Curlicue. 6 more sections to go!

What's that? You want a picture of cute baby? Happy to oblige.

Our little Easter Tulip. Any doubt about making one of those petal bibs from One Skein? Just delicious. (Biased, of course.) This bib was a gift, but I see myself making some in the very near future!

I *heart* Yarn

Section 8 of Curlicue. Slow going.

I have been thinking a lot about stash. There is this knitter in my knitting group named Penelope. Sadly, blogless. *cough* More shocking, stashless. *HACK* Fantastic knitter. How could she possibly be without a stash? And then I realized that every time I see her, she has on a handknit sweater. Handknit socks. Handknit mittens. And then it occurred to me - SHE KNITS! I mean, really. She actually knits. How many sweaters do I have? Uh, one. How much yarn do I have for sweaters? A lot.

Falling Leaves. Love. Slow going.

So every time I see her, I pester her. I have discovered that she likes to shop for yarn online. She has her credit card number memorized. Yet she possesses this ability to say (and obey) "Walk away from the yarn and no one gets hurt". So there's this other knitter in my group - Hila. If I spend an afternoon knitting with her, I find myself buying yarn. (It's not really her fault. It doesn't take much to be an enabler.) This past weekend, I was knitting with Hila. I got home, went to my computer to look up Trekking Natura and bam, there I was with 4 skeins in my shopping cart. "Walk away from the yarn and no one gets hurt." Why did I need four skeins? Well, I want to make socks for hotty hubby. I'm not sure what colors he might like. They all look nice. Can't hurt to have extra skeins. Can't hurt? That phrase is the means to a stash explosion. I quickly closed out the screen.

Threading the heddles. Doesn't hurt my hands. Slow going anyway.

When shopping for clothes, one holds them up in front of the mirror and says "I think I will wear this here and for this occasion and I will feel great and this will make me happy." We try on a life we hope to have. My stash is about knitting I hope to do. So my little hobby of poking yarn with sticks has become an example of how one can forget to live in the moment. (Are you following me?) I am not making any plans to stop buying yarn. (Hello, 12 steps, not one giant leap.) But I am thinking about being happy with what I am working on now and feeling the satisfaction of completion, instead of jumping ahead to that next, someday soon, project. Of course my hands are so DAMN SWOLLEN that the idea of completing a couple rows makes me giggle like a little girl. I have no choice but to stare at my current projects and face the reality of buying more yarn. I simply can't try to knit any faster!

A Productive Weekend Needs a Reward

I actually didn't think I would do it, but I got darn close. I finished section 7 and am halfway through section 8, which means I am halfway done with the Curlicue! You can't see me right now (which is probably a good thing) but I am doing this dance around my apartment in celebration of kicking some pregger arse on this blanket.


I also managed to package up a portion of my stash to send off to to my fellow knitters. I got so many requests I am actually digging through my stash to make sure there isn't more that I can let go of. So if you haven't heard from me yet, it doesn't mean I don't have yarn for you. I might! So give me another day, there is yarn all over our apartment right now. (Space bags. Seems like such a good idea, 'til you have to open them up and vacumm them again...and again...)


All this "work" and no vodka tonic to celebrate. So I pulled out some sacred and oh-so-special Schaefer Anne (I usually only pet it and put it back in the stash) and cast on Falling Leaves. For ME.

Destashing Closed

Thank you to all who left a comment and are willing to help me destash! I believe I have enough people to unload yarn on! In fact, I am going to take another sort through my saved stash to see if there is anything else that can go. I will email you for your address over the weekend as I sort this out. My plan is to have the yarn in the mail by Monday/Tuesday. Hooray!


I caught up on a little knitting last night. Section 6 is officially done. If I can get through sections 7 and 8 over the weekend, I am half way done! I did read Grumperina's issues with Curlicue, and I will admit, I didn't check my gauge as accurately as I should have. I'll blame that on Placenta Brain, because I do know better. I have used this yarn so many times, I just went with it, not really putting it together that my row gauge may have an affect on the overall outcome. Even if it does pucker a little bit, I'm not sure I care.

Hey Sit n' Knit peeps, did you see this?

Desperate to Destash

Crazy, but true. I had grand ideas of sifting my excess stash through ebay and meetups with Sit n' Knit. But I am feeling the crunch of time. MUST MAKE ROOM FOR BABY. At this point, I'm only willing to haul this yarn to the post office! So borrowing from Mary's brilliant destashing plan, I am willing to send YOU some yarn FOR FREE.

What's above is a glimpse of what I have. There is a whole throw kit (in the plastic bag thingy), a couple skeins of this, a couple skeins of that. I have bright colors, muted colors. I also have a bunch of straight needles, the old metal kind. Perhaps you are a beginner looking for more needles, or volunteer to teach knitting and need supplies. Let me know if you are game for a little surprise box of yarn. I don't have tons of any one thing, but I've got stuff! I believe knitters are good people (it's been proven time and time again) so I'm hoping this spreads a little of the karma.

Leave me a message in the comments section and an email address. Let me know your favorite color(s), and/or what you need yarn/needles for and if I have something that I think will work well for you, I will email you! My goal is to have this done through the weekend and off to the post office on Monday.


Yep, on to section 6 on the Curlicue. I missed a day of knitting yesterday, but hope to catch up tonight.


I'm hoping that puckering will work itself out with some blocking. (Gauge? Say what?)

Swollen Fingers = Swollen Credit Card

I may not be able to knit as much, but gosh darn it, I have enough mobility to pull out my credit card! This weekend we did our baby shopping. Stroller, car seat, changing table, night light, rocker and YARN. Purl was right nearby...and I knew exactly what I wanted... So here is Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria in color 213 (seafoam green) which I intend for this baby shrug from Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss.


I also picked up some Rowan Cashsoft 4ply in this absolutely yummy dirty, dusty, lavendar grey (sh423) for the Cable Blanket. My mom bought some very cool baby clothes recently, so cool that they deserve their own blanket. The pattern actually calls for dk but this color is so perfect that I was willing to buy more yarn and double up. I can't wait to start knitting this.


Neither can Lucy. This is "my" cat. She didn't realize she was a cat until she met my hotty hubby's cat. She is very skitterish and acts very differently from the other 2 furballs that we have. (His, Hers and Ours.) But in these last couple of weeks, she has been a bit like her old self, and I wonder if it has to do with my pregnancy. She follows me most of the day when I am home, and lays next to me, even now as I type, she is right behind me taking a snooze.


And here is a progress shot on the Coverlet. Section 5 is taking much longer than the other sections. The shaping has short rows, but instead of the stitches going down in number row by row, the shaping simply shifts to the left. Neat to watch it progress, but obviously takes a little longer. Regardless, it's coming along! 10 more sections to go and no, I have not cast on anything else. Yet.

Edema

Progress shot on the Curlicue Coverlet. The sections actually go by quite fast thanks to short rows. I think I can do 2 sections a week. I *think*, my swollen fingers are giving me knitting issues. If I accomplish 2 sections a week, this blanket could very well be done by the time the baby arrives! If she arrives on her due date. Ha.

Right now this is the only thing I am working on. As it gets bigger, it is hard to carry around. So, I will probably cast on some socks, though again, not sure how my fingers will hold up with the small needles. There is another blanket I want to make as well, and that baby sweater... I should have started all this baby knitting so long ago. I should have just put the other projects on hold. Hindsight is 20/20. Puffy fingers are...gross.

Moving Along

Chante & Schrodinger (and all who agreed with them) YOU ROCK! Thanks for your advice with picking up the wraps for my short row in the Curlicue Coverlet. I am now moving on...


Even more so since this little diversion is done! I modified this pattern, omitting the K1, P1 detail in the leg and did an eye of partridge heel, and kitchener finish when I had 12 stitches left. The yarn is Brooklyn Handspun in Mocha Rose. Love!

Curlicue Query

I'd like to finish this blanket before the baby comes so I finally cast on. (No, the scarves aren't done, but progress is made daily...though little side projects keep creeping up. Of course.) I have read some grumbling about the Curlicue Coverlet, but the majority seem to think the pattern is fine, just pay attention. One modification I am following is to do a provisional cast on so that there is no seaming, just a nice 3 needle bind off at the end. That works very well for me!


So here is my first issue. The first section is quite easy to do. Some short rows and wrapped stitches, not my favorite aesthetically. They are always loose, and there's that whole lift up the wrap and knit it with the stitch thing. I want to make sure that when it is time to knit these wrapped stitches, it's very clean. Any recommendations, since these stitches are more loose? Is it enough, truly, to knit the wrap with the stitch? Should I also knit through the back loop of the live stitch? Suggestions welcome!